Nationals tender contracts to 7 players, re-sign Adams

The Nationals tendered contracts to all seven of their arbitration-eligible players, the team announced on Friday, the non-tender deadline.

The Nats also agreed to a one-year deal with catcher Riley Adams.

Adams, second baseman Luis García Jr., shortstop CJ Abrams, right-handers Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray and Jake Irvin, and left-hander MacKenzie Gore were arb-eligible.

This was the first major roster decision for president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, who was hired in late September. Of the arb-eligible group, there were intriguing decisions to be made.

García, 25, earned $4.5 million this past season, his first year of arbitration eligibility. He slashed .252/.289/.412 with a .701 OPS, 16 home runs and -7 outs above average -- a dip from his 2024 production. García, the longest-tenured member of the Nationals, has maintained the mindset he will have to compete to keep his starting role. The Nats will continue to develop the middle infield of García and Abrams, 25.

Adams, 29, earned $850,000 this past season. He stepped up from the backup catcher role and made a career-high 74 starts when Keibert Ruiz was sidelined by concussions. Adams batted .286 in 49 games (45 starts) in the second half compared to .152 in 34 games (29 starts) in the first half. The Nationals are anticipating Ruiz will be full-go in Spring Training, but Adams has familiarity with the pitching staff should Ruiz be limited. One consideration with Adams was the possibility of the Nationals adding a veteran catcher to the group.

Irvin earned $774,600 this past year in his age-28 season. He went 9-13 with a 5.70 ERA (the highest ERA among qualified starters) across 180 innings in 33 starts. This was compared to going 10-14 with a 4.41 ERA in 187 2/3 innings in the same number of starts in 2024. The Nationals have their starting rotation from the end of last season intact (Gore, Irvin, Cavalli, Brad Lord and Andrew Alvarez), and Gray finished this year making three rehab starts on his road to a comeback from Tommy John surgery.

Last year, with the former front office led by Mike Rizzo, the Nationals non-tendered right-hander Kyle Finnegan in his final year of arbitration eligibility. This was a surprising decision on the closer, who was coming off his first All-Star season. Washington re-signed Finnegan in late February to a one-year, $6 million deal. The Nats also non-tendered righty reliever Tanner Rainey last year.